NTPC to drive bamboo-based biomass power generation at Solapur Plant
This is one giant leap in the direction of renewable energy; NTPC is all set to add one more item into its basket: bamboo as a new biomass fuel added to its list. NTPC shall be the very first such national endeavour, after its Solapur foray, add coal to that basket of fuels and energies too.
This comes after a proposal made by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis to NTPC chairman for the generation of sustainable and environment-friendly sources of energy. The pilot program will be led by the Solapur Thermal Power Station, which has a 1,320 MW coal-fired project.
Bamboo as a Biomass Fuel
As told by Pasha Patel, chief of the Chief Minister’s Environment and Sustainable Development Task Force, it has been taken out from farmers from Solapur, etc, all close locations, bamboo that, on comparison of calorific values with coal has equivalent values and in its entirety will prove as a good substitute and as well suitable all-year-around alternate fuel along with easy adaptation towards all climate.
Patel said that the Solapur plant alone consumes 4 million tonnes of coal, which is generating a lot of carbon. This is the reason why alternative sources of energy need to be explored so that coal-based power plants do not harm the environment.
“Every kilogram of coal burnt emanates 2.08 kg of carbon. If biomass from bamboo is adopted, then the environmental burden will be greatly reduced,” said Patel.
Farmer Participation and Support
The project will engage local farmers in large-scale bamboo cultivation. Initially, the farmers were not keen as they did not have a surety buyer for the bamboo. NTPC overcame these inhibitions by offering assured purchase at 50 years, which motivated farmers to take bamboo cultivation on 1 lakh hectares of their land.
Subsidies have been proposed under such schemes as MGNREGA and Asian Development Bank support for the cultivation of bamboo. ADB has submitted a ten-year subsidy proposal for the development of bamboo farming as sustainable agriculture.
Joint Ventures
The meeting in Solapur involved NTPC chairman Gurdeep Singh, MITRA CEO Praveen Singh Pardeshi, NTPC Solapur Project Head Tapan Kumar Bandopadhyay and local farmers, who discussed the strategies for bamboo cultivation, logistical support, and long-term procurement.
MITRA CEO Pardeshi assured all kinds of support that could be extended towards bamboo cultivation while encouraging farmer producer companies to also get involved in the initiative. Further plans were discussed regarding availing machinery meant for processing the bamboo biomass pellets through CSR schemes of NTPC.
Replacement of coal based thermal power plant, which can lead to a lot of global cause of concern and may be related directly to climate changes. The reason for this move is also brought out by IPCC as the share of coal to be reduced, which is necessary in energy development.
In this regard, the upcoming countries are reducing their dependence upon coal. Solapur and its step taken by India also leads towards adopting clean sources
Potential Impact:
The successful bamboo biomass initiative can be used as a model for other thermal power plants in India. Mass cultivation and use of bamboo for the generation of electricity would bring both renewable sources of energy and a stable source of income to the farmers.
Future Plans
But what NTPC would like is to extend it much more of bamboo-based power generation if results are seen with this pilot. All this as long as guarantee of government support and proper coordination among different stakeholders is there might open up possible cleaner and greener energy futures in India.
Source: Statements of Pasha Patel, NTPC, Maharashtra government officials.